"As far as prisons go, I've been in worse," Gramps said, meaning the waiting room Mother Naturia had left the four of them in. More than anything else, it resembled a den. Wooden walls. Wooden furniture with cushions made of moss.

     Alison got out of the chair that was so close to Winston's to sit on the sofa.

     "How long have you known?" Winston asked.

​     Alison shrugged. "In a way, I've always kind of known," she said. "I mean, as soon as I understood that some botanicals could take human form."

     "But you didn't say anything." 

     Again, Alison shrugged. "I felt lost for so long, and I don't mean for just the last year. I was seventeen, really, when it hit me just how different my family was from everyone else's."

​     "When we lost our home," Abby said.

     "Before that even. It got to the point where I felt kind of panicky and afraid all the time." 

     "Oh honey," Abby said. "Why didn't you say something?"

     "I did. I did in a thousand different...Anyway, for the first couple of months by myself, like I said, my life was Hell. I'd saved up enough over the years to pay rent for a couple of months, but that was it. I'd lock myself in my room and I wouldn't come out again unless I absolutely had to, but then the botanicals came along, and suddenly I didn't have to worry about food anymore, and I saw Mother Naturia on TV, and I liked her message, and the next natural step seemed to be to join up with her and her group."

     She pointed to Winston. "Then I met him. You were so kind to me, Winston, so kind and considerate and understanding."

     "I cared for you," Winston said. "I care for you now."

     "That's what you were grown to do," Gramps said. "If I was a computer, I'd say that's what The Fours programmed you to do."

     "I know nothing of The Fours."

     "Mother Naturia, then. Your diety. Your mommy."

     "Here's what I know," Winston said. "From the moment I saw Patty..."

     "Her name's Alison."

     "Of course."

     "Call her Alison." 

     "Stop picking on him, Gramps," Alison said. "What my boyfriend calls me has got nothing to do with you."

     "From the second we first met, I felt a connection with her stronger than any I'd ever known." 

​     "And how long ago is that?" Gramps asked.

     "How long..." 

     "You look like a sixty year old man, but, again, you were never actually 'born', were you? You were cultivated. I watched Mother Naturia's 'birth' last year, and you can't be older than that." 

     A look of intense, emotional pain crossed Winston's features. From where she sat on the sofa some eight feet away, Alison reached out a hand as if to comfort him. She told Gramps, "You said that in the most negative way possible."

     "The first thing you come to hate when you get to be my age is bullshit," Gramps replied. "You are not a human being, Winston. No one inside this room, outside of my family, are."

     With that, the other "people" in the room rose as one to walk to the nearest wall and disappear.

     "See?" Gramps said, indicating their departure with his thumb. "They're like actors in a TV show. Nothing real about 'em. You only look and sound human, Winston. You talk of having a connection with my granddaughter..."

​     "I love her."

     "Hey, great, you love her, but if Mother Naturia wants you to strangle Alison in her sleep one night, you'll do it without hesitation, without thought, because, in reality, you have no free will of your own."

     Winston said, "Whatever you think..."

     "No, hold on, Winston," Alison said. "Did you listen to a word I just said, Gramps? I was in a very bad way when I..." 

     "It hasn't been a pleasant time for anybody."

     "I'm not anybody! I am your granddaughter, supposedly."  

     "Of course I'm..."

     "You are not! You talk about Winston not being human? You're not human! I have no idea..." 

     Abby said, "Honey, if..." 

     "You talk about Winston being a liar? You're a liar!"

     "Alison!"

     "My whole family's a lie!"

                                                     CONTINUE

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